Money

In the interim since Ancient Toronto fell and the new world arose, governments began minting coins anew, so that the standard silver, gold, and copper coins of the standard DCC milieu are also found in Toronto Crawl Classics. Platinum and electrum also exist, but these coins are extremely rare.

But that is not all. Oh no, that is not all.

Caches of ancient coinage also exist in Ruined Toronto. Some of these coins are ancient indeed, coming from the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum that was, and others are from foreign exchanges – these are curios, most often, of little practical value. I wanted to give PCs reason to seek out Canadian coins, though – loonies, toonies, and quarters in particular, but right down to the humble maple leaf penny.

(Non-Canadians should be aware that the Canadian dollar coin is called a “loonie” because it has an image of a loon on it, and the two-dollar coin is called a “toonie”.)

Setting a value for these coins had to meet three criteria: (1) that they be valuable enough to search for, (2) that there is a real decision between keeping them or turning them in for the monetary value, and (3) that the value still makes currency conversion relatively simple.

To this end, a Canadian loonie is worth 5 gp, a toonie is worth 10 gp, and a quarter is worth a mere 1 gp. The reasoning is thus: You need Canadian currency to use the vending machines scattered throughout the ruins. These vending machines are generally priced at $2.00 per can of beverage. The vending machines can defend themselves. Moreover, if the ritual of putting the correct change into the machine is not followed, the beverage vended will lose any potential mystical ability it has.

That’s right – pay for it properly, and there is a good chance that your can of Dr. Pepper is also a healing potion. And, as the abilities of any given potion are based on the type of drink, once you learn the ropes, you can almost certainly decide if you really want Coke or Pepsi right now. Don’t pay for it, and you have carbonated sugar water and have to fight the machine even for that. Since the time of the Ancients, the vending machines link directly to another plane of existence, so you can’t even break them open to retrieve your change….

Quarters are only worth 1 gp in this system because fully ¼ of them disappear into the vending machine without being accepted as payment. Nickels and dimes are worth 1 sp and 2 sp respectively; fully 1 in 3 disappear into the void without payment being registered. Finally, pennies are also worth 1 sp…in this case because elves can handle the metal, which can be forged into pennysteel – a metal like steel in all ways, but with no iron content. Every indication shows that pennysteel didn’t exist in Ancient times; it’s very existence is a by-product of the arcane forces set loose in the new world.

For some reason, American coins don’t work in Ruined Toronto’s vending machines, and cannot be forged into pennysteel here. Perhaps if you travel to Buffalo or Windsor, things will be different?

Adjusting Class

Perhaps you are considering a Warrior who, like Conan, can climb walls and locate traps. Perhaps you want a Thief who, like the Gray Mouser, knows a bit of magic. Perhaps you would rather your Halfling caused birds to fly away and rabbits to flee when e stoops to pick up a rock, as with Bilbo in The Hobbit. Or maybe your elf is more fight-y and less spell-y than the average elf.

The Occupations roll in Dungeon Crawl Classics goes a long way to differentiate characters, if you can remember that your Wizard was once also a blacksmith (or, in Toronto Crawl Classics, possibly a bike courier). There is a big chance between a skill check made with 1d10 and 1d20. Even a lowly gongfarmer should hope to find situations where his knowledge is handy…perhaps even a +1d bonus when saving to tolerate a foul odor!

Sometimes occupation is insufficient for what you want, though. Other game systems use widgets like feats and skill points to differentiate characters. Dungeon Crawl Classics says, “Quest For It”. I will take a middle road and say, if you want to make a minor adjustment to your character’s class…or, hell, even a moderate adjustment….propose it.

“Bob’s never going to be a Lucky Halfling…could I give up a Halfling’s special relationship with Luck to gain a full complement of Thief skills?”

Depending upon what you are asking, the answer will be “Sure” or “Quest For It”. In the event that you need to Quest For It, I will either give you something specific to accomplish or leave it to you to discover, probably with some clue as to how to go about it. I.e.:

“Your elf might be able to tolerate iron if she bathed in the blood of the dragon that dwells in Wonder Mountain.”

“Your warrior wants a Luck Die like a Thief? Well, the nomadic Bone Folk might know a way, but they are only in the area of Ruined Toronto around the springtime, and they are known to eat people.”

The only important restriction here is that, in Toronto Crawl Classics, humans are special. Only humans have a clerical relationship with the gods.

Multi-Classing

You have two options. One, you can use “half-levels”, as described here and in Crawl #10. This method trades XP for versatility.

The second option trades time and effort for versatility. You need to locate a powerful mentor, who can train you in the second class. In this case, you trade game time (when the character is training, he is not available) for the additional class.

In neither case do benefits “stack”: you gain the more favourable of the two possible benefits. Each time you gain sufficient XP for a new level, you decide which class it applies to. Since no character can have more than 10 total levels, both methods ensure that no character can possibly be the best in all things. You either have a great deal of ability in a narrow focus, or you have a smaller amount of ability with a wider focus.

New Classes

Finally, if you wish, you may devise an entirely new class for your PC. The same rules apply here as with any third-party class: You must have a copy, I must have a copy, and I require time to okay the class. If you aren’t trying to “game the system”, I will probably approve it. I might approve it contingent on one or more adjustments, however.

If you devise a new class, I will also determine that it is a “one off” (i.e., no one but you will get to play it, and no other character of yours will get to be it) or open it up to the table.

Non-Human Classes

If 90% of the playable characters in the environs of Ruined Toronto are human, the other 10% are not. In addition to the three core Demi-Humans in the DCC rulebook (Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling), the following race-classes are relatively common.

FaerieAnimal (with a local species table specific to Ruined Toronto) , Gnome, Moktar, Mutant, Robot, Simian, Tiefling, Warforged, and Zaria. Again, when Mutant Crawl Classics hits the shelved, the non-human classes from that book will also be rolled into the mix, as appropriate. I have no problem with having a Crawling Under a Broken Moon mutant and a Mutant Crawl Classics mutant in the same campaign.

                                                                               

Ten percent of all non-humans (and therefore 1% of all characters) are "exotics". This is your chance to play an Avarian, a Ghost, a Kith, a Moon Dweller Psionicist, or even a Scrappler. The same rules apply as with non-standard human classes - you need a copy, and I need a copy. I will also need a chance to look it over. If it is published for DCC the odds are extremely good that I have a copy.

Dungeon Crawl Classics uses "Race as Class" for non-humans, but I have no problem with a player who wishes (for example) a Dwarven RunePriest.  Much more on this in the next post.

Human Classes

Fully 90% of playable inhabitants of the Toronto Ruins and the villages and towns in their immediate vicinity (and sometimes within the Ruins themselves) are human. The other 10% are comprised of elves, dwarves, halflings, and even stranger creatures.

Among humans, players may roll percentiles, or simply choose, to determine descent. Players are encouraged to roll 1d3 times – many people in Ruined Toronto are of mixed heritage. Roll 1d100: (01-07) English , (08-11) Chinese, (12-13) Japanese, (14-18) Irish, (19-22) Scottish, (23-26) Indian, (27-29) Italian, (30-32) Filipino, (33-35), German, (36-38) French, (39-40) Polish, (41-42) Portuguese, (43-45) Jamaican, (46-47) Jewish, or (48) Ukrainian, (49) Russian, (50) Sri Lankan, (51) Spanish, (52) Greek, (53) Korean, (54) Dutch, (55) Iranian, (56) Vietnamese, (57) Pakistani, (58) Hungarian, (59) Guyanese, (60) Welsh, (61) Afghan, (62) Arabic, (63) Barbadian, (64) Bangladeshi, (65) Bulgarian, (66) Colombian, (67) Croatian, (68) Ecuadorian, (69) Ethiopian, (70) Grenadian, (71) Macedonian, (72) Mexican, (73) Nepali, (74) Romanian, (75) Salvadoran, (76) Serbian, (77) Somalian, (78) Tibetan, (79) Trinidadian, (80) Vincentian, (81-82) Métis, (83) Inuit, (84) Algonquin, (85) Anishinabeg, (86) Chippewa, (87) Delaware, (88) Hiawatha, (89) Mohawk, (90) Cree, (91) Iroquois, (92) Mattagami, (93) Mississaug, (94) Ojibway, (95) Oneida, (96) Onondaga, (97) Saugeen, (98-99) other First Nation, (00) non-human.

In the event of non-human descent, roll 1d16: (1-5) Elvish, (6-7) Halfling, (8) Goblinoid, (9-10) Bestial (roll 1d7: 1 Feline, 2 Canine, 3 Ursine, 4 Reptilian, 5 Piscine, 6 Cetacean, 7 Other), (11) Alien, (12-13) Faerie. (14-15) Demonic, (16) Other. Whether or not non-human descent has any in-game statistical effect will be determined by the judge on a case-by-case basis. Player input is most definitely solicited!

Human characters may select from any of the human classes in the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook (Cleric, Thief, Warrior, or Wizard). In addition, they may choose from the following additional classes. Note that this is an inclusive, not an exclusive list. If you wish to play a Blood Witch  or a Paladin, I will help you make that happen. You must have a copy of the class, you must make sure that I have a copy of the class, and I need the time to make sure it is reasonably “balanced” with the core classes.

The most common human classes in Ruined Toronto, apart from the standard four, are: Cyborg, Druid, Mad Scientist, Monk, Petrol Head, Psychic Knight, Scavenger, Skate Hero, Technologist, Technomancer, and Witch. Alternate classes from Mutant Crawl Classics will be rolled in when they become available. 

(Some attempt was made to correlate diversity with Census information, but the attempt was limited because the data totaled more than 100%. You can absolutely choose ethnicities not listed on the above chart!)

                                                

Background

A rift occurred in history, dividing our universe from that of Toronto Crawl Classics. The year was 1974. The incident was the publication of Dungeons & Dragons in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. In our world, millions benefited from a harmless, and often educational, hobby. In the world of Toronto Crawl Classics, though, Jack Chick was right – the game released real magic into the world, and it was not altogether benign.

Some say that the burst of technology which followed was keyed to that magic. Some say that great occult powers seeking to bargain with humanity aided researchers seeking to understand the remains of a crash in New Mexico. Whatever the truth may be, the Toronto That Was knew technologies we do not, in part resembling the future glimpsed in 80s cartoons, with robots, energy weapons, and other devices, some of which still function.

The cataclysm came with a great display in the heavens. The world shook. Buildings fell. Stars reeled in their courses. Many people simply…disappeared, never to be seen again. Creatures from mythology, nightmare, and storybooks began to appear. It was as though the boundary between the real world and the human collective unconsciousness momentarily dissolved, allowing things to seep through.

That was over two centuries ago. The campaign begins in the Common Year 105 PC (Post Cataclysm), sometimes known as 2220 AD based on the calendars of the Ancients. The great technologies of the past are a memory. Magic is real. Gods involve themselves in worldly affairs. And, as always, people have adapted.